Entries tagged with: Nomi

A new club called the Good Room is in the process of opening in Greenpoint at 98 Meserole Ave. If that address sounds familiar, it's because it's the location of the Brooklyn venue previously and very recently known as Europa. Their first event was an invite-only party this past Saturday (10/25) with DFA DJs Nancy Whang and The Juan Maclean along with Nomi Ruiz. Club designer/legend Steven Lewis is reportedly the rebranded club's designer. Bedford and Bowery went that night:

The place's operators and handlers are still keeping it very much under wraps, but (oops!) a tweet from one of Saturday's other DJs, "trans superstar of tomorrow" Nomi Ruiz, reveals that veteran club maestro Steve Lewis designed the room, which is actually three rooms located up a flight of stairs. The first consists of a spacious dance floor surrounded by curved banquette seating. That room is outfitted with a bumping sound system that can be heard half a block away, plus the obligatory state-of-the-art lighting, smoke machines and disco ball. It opens onto another room dominated by a projecting rectangular bar. And off to the side is a smaller parlor where, behind the DJ booth, a wall of shelves stocked with vinyl give off a library vibe. On Saturday, techno and electronica dominated the main room while New Order and the like had people pogoing in the side room.

Upon entering the door guys and security were very friendly. Once I walked up the stairs and entered the club, immediately I felt like I was in a very cool environment for enjoying house/techno/nudisco music. The dancefloor although not huge is very open, with a raised lounge area extending around the entire perimeter. The room is very dark with rotating blue spotlights on the ceiling beaming down on the dancefloor that make for a pretty awesome vibe on the floor. First thing I noticed was the sound on the floor was great! Perfect separation of the bass and overall very clear sound. The bar had fairly reasonable prices for a club, $6 beers (crappy selection though, Heinekin, Stella, and Amstel), and $8 mixed drinks.

Previews continue tonight (Halloween) with a private party from 9pm-12am that includes a "surprise guest", and then a more public party from midnight to 4am with DJs Tommy James, Ray Zuniga, and Modernluv. Both events tonight are hosted by Three Kings Tattoos (who just spent Friday and Saturday with us giving tattoos at Baby's All Right).

There was also an event there last night with another surprise guest (anyone know it was?) (UPDATE: it was Le Youth), and yet another surprise guest plays there on Saturday as part of THIS Dia De Los Muertos celebration.

It's unclear if live shows will be returning to the location. We'll keep you posted.

As you are probably aware, this Saturday (4/20) is Record Store Day. We've already told you some of our picks from the myriad #RSD13 exclusives, but many of NYC's record stores are having special events that day. While this guide is pretty thorough, it may not be comprehensive. If you know of cool Record Store Day happenings that aren't in this post, let us know in the comments. But here's the stuff we found:

We already told you about Greenwich Village mainstay Generation Records who are having live performances from Forgetters, Doug Gillard, Swearin' and Livids as well as DJ sets from WFMU's Tom Scharpling and Forgetters' Blake Schwarzenbach. Generation will open at 10 AM, with bands starting at 2 PM. Schedule still TBA.

While you're in the area, take a second to walk over to Bleecker Bob's where you won't find any records for sale, but as of Wednesday you could still at least take one more look through the window at the somewhat-still stocked shelves of the closed store.

Over at In Living Stereo on Great Jones, they'll have live performances from Alex Bleeker & the Freaks and Prince Rupert's Drops, plus free PBR from noon. More info here.

Other Music isn't big enough to have bands play while people shop, so they have bands DJ during RSD, and this year's line-up will have Parquet Courts, Sharon Van Etten, Jonathan Toubin and more on the decks. Other Music opens at 10:30 AM with DJs starting at noon (schedule is below).

Also having DJs spin on #RSD13, as mentioned, is East Village shop Turntable Lab. Their line-up also includes FaltyDL, as well as Nomi Ruiz, Justin Strauss, Eli Escobar and many more. DJs spin from 10 AM - 8 PM.

Kim's Video & Musicpromises "DJ sets from some of your favorite local artists and DJ's" but they don't name names. They are, however, open at 8 AM.

Another EV store, Good Records, won't have RSD exclusives, but they will have a bunch of rare used vinyl they'll be putting out that day, including albums by Brian Eno, The Fall, Blur, Pink Floyd, The White Stripes and more. They'll also have free food and beverages. More details are here.

still from Cake Shop's RSD video

Some of you may not remember when Cake Shop back lounge was a record store, but they still carry a few a few new releases and they'll have a selection of RSD exclusives on Saturday. Additionally, they'll have "lots of deals, lots of old stuff we've been holding onto forever etc! Plus: tons of fun, possible balloons and maybe Eddie!" That night Record Store Day moves downstairs with an extremely stacked indie rock/pop line-up, with Literature, Grand Resort, Sparxx, Cascading Slopes, The Hairs, a short solo set from TPOBPAH's Kip Berman and Scott and Charlene's Wedding. Kip and Maria Sherman will also be on DJ duty. Doors for the night show are at 8 PM and is a mere $5 entry. A pretty weird, funny video hyping Cake Shop's RSD fun is below.

Downtown at J&R Music World,Anthrax will be in the house at 12:30 PM signing records and anything else you want their John Hancock on, and they generally have a good selection of #RSD13 exclusives too.

Meanwhile in Brooklyn, Record Store Day will be the last day ever for Williamsburg's Sound Fix, which is probably enough for them (read a new interview with the owner HERE). Last year they had doughnuts and coffee, if memory serves. They're open at 10 AM and in addition to RSD exclusive, their fire sale (which is happening now) includes "25% off all CDs, 10% off all LPs."

"If you are tuff enuff to come to Co-Op 87 Records ONCE an hour, EVERY hour of Record Store Day (24 visits!) and spend $10 on a record (not multiple records) at least ONCE for EACH of those hours, you'll be entitled to an INCREASING percentage off, starting at 4% and increasing BY 4% each time on ANY one record UP to $100! That means he or she who braves this madness could by the final hour, buy ANY $100 or less record for a WHOPPING 96% off!"

Nomi Ruiz, who was one of the vocalists on Hercules & Love Affair's 2008 breakthrough and is a current member of Jessica 6, is set to release her second solo album, Borough Gypsy, on May 14 as a free download via Clocktower Gallery's website.

You can get an early listen to the album at a listening party at Clocktower Gallery on April 23. While there you can also check out accompanying video portraits directed by Nomi, as well as diaries, sketchbooks, photo albums and songwriting journals. The event runs from 6 - 8 PM and is free, but RSVP is required.

Before that, Nomi will be one of the many DJs spinning vinyl at Turntable Lab's Record Store Day festivities on Saturday (4/20). Other DJs include FaltyDL, Justin Strauss, Midnight Magic and many more. Flyer for their event is below.

Nomi was among the performers and DJs at last night's tribute (4/17) to legendary NYC DJ Mark Kamins who died earlier this year. The party, which happened at Santos, featured an incredible roster of talent, from spinners like Jellybean Benitez, John Robie, and Justin Strauss, and live performances from Konk (their first show since 1986), Crystal Ark, and more. Did you go to Santos last night? How was it (and how late did it go)? A few Instagrams from Santos are below.

The celebration of Mark Kamins' life and times culminates at Santos Party House tonight. Konk will perform for the first time since 1986. Lady Miss Kier of Dee-Lite fame, as well. Coati Mundi, Crystal Ark, and a ton of other performers will crowd both floors of the club that most resembles the old- school type clubs where most of these folks did their thing ...in days of yore. A zillion DJs including Jellybean Benitez and Justin Strauss and Mike Pickering and Stretch Armstrong and Ivan Ivan and Jazzy Nice and and and.... will make musical statements about the man we and thousands of others loved. I will MC along with Jim Fouratt, Chi Chi Valenti, Michael Holman, and and and. Proceeds of the event will go to the Mark Kamins Scholarship Award in Electronic Music. Walter Durkacz is the puppeteer pulling all the strings that make this sort of thing happen. Not an easy gig. [Steven Lewis]

When Mark Kamins passed on to another plane earlier this year, he clearly left a large impact on the community. That community is banding together to celebrate his life and legacy tonight (4/17) at Santos Party House as part of "Mark & Cetra: A Pow Wow of Everybody in Celebration of DJ Mark Kamins." And they do mean "everybody".

This massive, two floor celebration will feature an almost endless number of legendary DJ talent like Jellybean Benitez, John Robie, Justin Strauss, Mike Pickering, Stretch Armstrong, Lady Miss Kier (Dee-Lite) and many more, as well as live band performances from names like KONK (doing their first show since 1986), Crystal Ark, Nomi Ruiz, Coati Mundi,Strafe and others.

Tickets are still available, with all proceeds going toward the Mark Kamins Scholarship for Electronic Music. Full schedule of events is below.

[Last night] at New York City's IFC Center, Antony Hegarty's long in-process Turningfilm finally began its American theatrical run, following the U.S. premiere last weekend at the DOC NYC festival.

The film, a collaboration with Charles Atlas (The Legend of Leigh Bowery), documents the pair's 2006 European "Turning" tour, which featured Antony performing alongside large-scale projections of 13 models, who individually took the stage and slowly turned on circular platforms. It includes backstage clips and interviews with each of the models, many of whom are transgendered or grappling with issues of gender and sexuality. At the premiere, Antony said he hoped Turning would unveil the essence of its subjects' humanity. [Pitchfork]

The film is playing now at IFC Center in NYC with tickets on sale for multiple screenings each day through 11/20, and special guests at select screenings. See IFC's site for more info, and head below for a clip and the trailer of the movie, and a list of upcmoming European screenings...

Danish musician Mikkel Hess just released Creation Keeps the Devil away on Nublu Records, the new album under his punny moniker Hess is More. The album's out this week and you can download the title track at the top of this post and watch the video for the very catchy "Burn" below.

Hess is More plays a record release show Tuesday (10/11) at Westway (75 Clarkson St.) and it's free with RSVP. While his records are a solo thing, Hess is More live is a seven-piece band which sounds pretty interesting. Nomi Ruiz is DJing.

In addition to the "Burn" video, there are streams of Hess is More covers of Blondie's "Heart of Glass," Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime" and Simon & Garfunkle's "The Only Living Boy in New York" -- a tribute to the city where he made his new album. Hess says:

Sometimes it can be overwhelming to think about how much amazing music that has been created already. Maybe you know the feeling of songs from that endless pool of music that just fall into your head, and you don't know where they came from. You might not even recall the title or the artist, but some part of it is stuck with you. I started acting on these bits and pieces dropping in, by making cover versions. Not studying excactly the orginal, but based more freely on the bits and pieces I could remember in the moment. Here are three songs that are somehow all related to New York City. Thanks.

Flyer for record release party, videos and cover version streams are all below.

Download "Prisoner of Love" from the forthcoming Jessica 6 album above (Antony and Nomi Ruiz together again). "See The Light" will be released by Peacefrog on 6/6.

Jessica 6, who oddly played an in-store in a Sephora earlier today (5/6), play Tammany Hall along with DJ JD Samson (Le Tigre) and Body Language tonight (as mentioned earlier in What's Going on Friday). Flyer and other dates below...

Creep is a duo comprised of Lauren Dillard and house DJ and producer Lauren Flax. Flax is also Fischerspooner's touring DJ. Creep recently dropped a video for "Days" directed by Fischerspooner Warren Fischer. The song features vocals from Romy Madley Croft of The xx. Check out that video below and look for Creep's debut LP later this year. Meanwhile they also have other collaborative singles planned with Reggaeton-R&B twins Nina Sky, Nomi Ruiz and Planning to Rock.

Speaking of Nomi Ruiz (who is best known for her role in Hercules & Love Affair), Nomi's current project Jessica 6 recently announced a March 1st Mercury Lounge show. That gig takes place not long after the band gets back from a European tour. All dates below.

Going into last night's show at Music Hall of Williamsburg (9/15), I admit I had little idea of what to expect not only from CocoRosie, but from the extravagantly worded opener as well. (To borrow the phrasing of the Bowery Presents event listing, the opening act was a "Gay Mormon Kissing Club DJ Set with special guests Nomi Ruiz, Kembra Pfahler, Laundrymatters and Rebecca Wright.") This was clearly more than a straight-forward DJ set.

As if attempting to live up to the frenetic nature of the description, the "DJ Set" was a wild mixture of music manipulation and performance art. I arrived about midway through the set - not long enough to witness all of the 'special guests,' but with plenty of time to get a sense of the strange scene. Immediately upon entering the room I was so distracted by the spectacle on stage of the two DJs - their faces obscured by multiple scarves and handkerchiefs - that the music blaring through the speakers became only ancillary. After quite a performance, which involved an angry monologue set in part to Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" (and a host of other attention grabbers), the stage cleared and the crowd pushed forward.

In between the sets, the stage was adorned by a number of Mylar helium balloons that depicted mixed messages. (Was it someone's birthday? No wait. That one said "Get Well Soon" and another - "It's a Girl!") Though the meaning of the balloons was never made clear, the stage was set for a theatrical and highly spirited performance.

Sisters Bianca (Mom called her 'Coco') and Sierra (you guessed it, 'Rosie') Casady create an intriguing combination of hip hop and "freak folk", and their live show is certainly a spectacle worth witnessing. Set to a background of swirling, carnivalesque projections, their first song began with a lovely little piano intro. Then, enter Tez, the skinny, hipster-glasses-framed beatboxer, and Sierra on vox. Like a woodland nymph, Sierra danced around the stage, singing sweetly.

Sure, the dancing, sound effects (cue haunted house noise), outfits (Bianca had a severed ponytail hanging from the front of her dress), and beatboxing were a bit over-the-top at times, but the sisters seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves on stage. These were not cool, aloof, self-appointed divas. One look at Sierra's huge smile between songs made this abundantly clear. As if performing for the first time, the girl could not contain her glee, and the effect was charming.

Midway through their set, Sierra and Bianca left the stage to Tez, whose impressively powerful beatboxing quickly caused technical problems. No more than a few minutes into his performance, his mic gave out. He began again, after a quick apology and some assistance from the tech guy, but his new mic gave out even more quickly than before, and he bashfully welcomed the others back on stage.

Apparently, the short break had been enough time for a costume change - at least for Bianca who now wore a satin bustier. For the second half of their set, the number of performers nearly doubled thanks to the welcome addition of a 4-piece horns section. Invigorated by the additional force of the brass, CocoRosie delivered an impassioned performance, that began with the song "Hopscotch" and concluded with "Lemonade."

Though their stage personalities seem to greatly vary, the dynamic and highly collaborative nature of their music makes for a compelling scene. Throughout the show, they switched off vocal duties regularly, Sierra's operatic vibrato interestingly pitted against Bianca's spoken word raps.

The crowd's fanaticism following the conclusion of CocoRosie's set was impressive. The floor was shaking due to all the clapping, cheering, and stomping... but of course, the room was filled with admirers who had willingly (and even lovingly) paid the steep $30 entry fee. It's no secret that the merits of CocoRosie are stringently debated in the blogosphere. Between Bianca's baby-talk voice, and the duo's bizarre theatrical personas, the Casady sisters make music people love to hate. But then again - how many fans would stick around long enough and cheer enthusiastically enough to invoke a second encore... and how many artists would be gracious enough to respond to the call?

"Thank you for the greatest show you've ever seen!" screamed electronica goddess Merrill Nisker, aka Peaches, before stepping off the stage Saturday night at Terminal 5. Never one for modesty, the 43-year-old former elementary school teacher known for her provocative performances, explicit lyrics, and all around bad-ass allure, put on a great show with Brooklyn's Jessica 6 and Philly's self-proclaimed "hottest-muthafucka-on-the-whole-damn-block" Amanda Blank. Backed by her Berlin-based band Sweet Machine, Peaches' set and double encore were a sexually-charged gender-bending spectacular that featured all of her classics. The crowd went wild for numbers like "Operate," "Boys Wanna Be Her," and, of course, feel-good, sing-along hit "Fuck the Pain Away." She also rocked an array of colorful costumes that would put Lady Gaga to shame, and for her final song, "Set it Off," she wore a revealing nude bodysuit and a ghetto fab chain. "New York is the most open-mided city," she teased, before encouraging the audience with a chant of "shirts come off, shirts, shirts come off!" Lo and behold, shirts came off." [Paper]

It was a night of leggy ladies on stage at Terminal 5 in NYC on Saturday night (11/14). More pictures from the show below...

"I saw Hercules and Love Affair this weekend who now have Mark Pistel in the band (founding member of Consolidated) which made me remember about Meat Beat Manifesto and seeing them play live. Fucking great show. They had these dancers with mini crutches, one of whom hit my friend Angy in the head while dancing feverishly on stage. Good times." - waxy yellow buildup

Hercules & Love Affair played two NYC shows over the weekend. Friday night it was at the Gramercy Theatre in Manhattan. Saturday was over the river in Brooklyn at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

As Andy Butlersomewhat explained to The Voice, guest vocalists like Antony (who is on the album) and Nomi (who has been a prominent vocalist in the band's live shows) are not permanent members of the band which will continue to change over time. Nomi was not present at the shows where, at Music Hall at least, they played mostly songs from their 2008 self-titled album, and some new stuff too. Jason Kendig opened.

At 7:00 AM, July 4th, young party people ambled out of Manhattan Center into pale light already wearing sunglasses. But it wasn't freedom that was ringing in their ears after a long night out. For ten hours, inside the 20,000 square foot ballroom, miscalibrated bass punched their cochleas. Billed as the event to "pop off" before fireworks over the Hudson, over a thousand had waited patiently for someone to light the fuse.

Despite sound and stage, it was up to the DJs to forget business and elevate the room. Unfortunately, they failed to truly engage the receptive audience or even distinguish themselves from one another. It was a visual spectacle, but ultimately a misdirected marathon with a corporate aftertaste, that never allowed Firecracker to go off.

Butler will also be in NYC (where he lives) for a weekend of Hercules & Love Affair shows on August 14th and 15th. They'll play the Gramercy Theatre on Friday, August 14th. Ticketsgo on sale July 17th at noon. Then, they're be coming to Brooklyn for an August 15th show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets for that go on AmEx presale today (July 15th) at noon; general sale starts Friday at noon.

As a Hercules & Love Affair gig, it's not exactly clear who'll be on hand for the performance...

Village Voice: You know I have to ask about the state of Hercules and Love Affair. You guys cancelled your Coachella appearance, and everybody is slowly starting to form their own little subgroups (Jessica 6/Deep Red, Midnight Magic). What's going on?

Butler: [laughs] The situation is, for the next record, I'm involving a whole handful of new artists, and that's how it was going to be, always. There are a lot of artists I want to work with. Kim-Ann [Foxman], [vocalist] Nomi [Ruiz], all the kids that were working with me on the first record and the tours, they've started doing their own stuff. Nomi has her band, [bassist] Andrew [Raposo] and [keyboardist] Morgan [Wiley] have their own band...

VV: So it was more of a press misconception? Like, this solo project that happened to have a live touring band got cast more as a band when it wasn't?

Butler: Yeah. I mean, these are guest artists. Like, someone like Kim-Ann [Foxman] is potentially ever-present; she and I have a long friendship and a long-standing creative collaboration. The other artists like Antony and Nomi both have solo careers, and when they went into it, they knew they had solo careers and that they would be doing their own thing. So basically, the vocalists are Kim-Ann and a whole new batch of people that I've worked with at various points...I'm co-producing with a new producer. The whole scenery has changed.

Butler's DJ mix for the Sidetracked series is coming out July 21st on Renaissance Recordings. That record includes an exclusive new Hercules track. Butler's take on the track's new "angry" direction, with all tour dates, below...

It was Deep Red's first NYC show (maybe their first show ever). Their second (at the moment) is February 13th at Highline Ballroom where they'll be performing Sade songs. Tickets are still on sale.

Nomi is now best known as the frontwoman of Hercules and Love Affair. Deep Red's other members also play with that band, and based on what I've heard so far, the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree (is that the right expression?).

Deep Red is a collaboration that includes Hercules & Love Affair keyboardist Morgan Wiley, bassist Andrew Raposo, and vocalist Nomi Ruiz who met while on the 2008 Hercules & Love Affair Tour. They combine minimal electro, dance, and R&B to create what sounds like a cross between Afrika Bambaataa, Kraftwork & Madonna. The synergy of their live show [by who I'm not sure] is said to evoke Fleetwood Mac & Sade incorporating live saxaphone & flute.

Their first single 'Fun Girl', is a dark dance number full of tough vocal hooks, dirty bass and spooky synth lines. They are preparing to release a 12" this Spring followed by a run of shows in Europe and the US.

Clocking in at under 90 minutes (he started around 8:15, and we were definitely on the street by 9:45), Antony brought down the house at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem last night (Oct 16, 2008). Dressed all in white, Antony stood (the whole time) on the hardly-lit stage with a full orchestra playing behind him. Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman) played piano (a job Antony used to have in addition to singing), and two regular members of the Johnsons (Julia Kent and Maxim Moston) played with the orchestra that had roughly 20 members and a conductor (Robert Moose) who looked like Nico Muhly from the back (the side we saw of Robert throughout the whole show as he eloquently moved his baton and body behind Antony). He wasn't Nico though. That was most evident when Nico, the co-arranger for the show, came on stage for a bow with everyone else at the end.

Speaking of the end, it came way too soon and after an encore that only lasted for one song. Heavy on new songs, and light on the 'hits', highlights of the setlist included a jazzed up, re-arranged version of the classic "Cripple and the Starfish", a cover of Beyonce's "Crazy in Love", and a beautiful, beautiful, old-school-Antony-full-of-emotion-and-magic, minimalistic-with-not-too-much-orchestra (aka I loved it the best) version of "Another World" which is the title track from Antony's new EP. There were no special guests, though Antony's friends Nomi and Lou Reed were both spotted in the audience. More pictures from the show below...

Nomi, now best know as a singing member of Hercules & Love Affair, played solo at the Zipper Factory in NYC on Tuesday night (September 30). The next time Nomi performs in New York will be with Hercules & Love Affair when they open for the B-52s at Hammerstein Ballroom. More pictures from the solo show below...

Hercules and Love Affair began as the studio project of Mr. Butler, 29, a Denver native who moved to New York to attend college in the late 1990s. But today it includes two Brooklyn singers -- Nomi Ruiz, 24, who has collaborated with Deborah Harry, CocoRosieand Antony; and Kim Ann Foxman, 31, a jewelry designer and D.J. -- and a backing band, which includes Morgan Wiley and Andrew Raposo, both formerly of Automato. (Antony, who appears on five of the album's songs, is not participating in any of the band's interviews or live performances.)

The trio, without the backing band, gathered in a representative's office some 36 hours after its first full performance in May, at Studio B in Brooklyn, and the night's excitement had yet to dissipate. "I thought our crowd was surprisingly good for a New York audience," Mr. Butler began brightly, before Ms. Ruiz interrupted: "Yeah! They were dancing."

Mr. Butler said, "New York isn't so conducive to a party anymore," referring, in part, to the city's stiflingly high cost of living....
[Sunday's NY Times]

I didn't realize that that the Hercules & Love Affair album wasn't out in the U.S. before this week. It's because they released it in Europe so long before the United States. Why do they still do that? Listen to the whole thing at Spinner.

Their record company describes them as "a pan-sexual mix for our troubled times". That is one way of saying that Hercules and Love Affair are the kind of band in which guest vocalist Antony Hegarty - the Mercury prize-winning torch singer and radical gay performance artist, with a strong interest in gender reassignment - is the Charlie Watts figure: integral, but a bit stolid and suburban by contrast with his flamboyant bandmates. These include transsexual vocalist Nomi; dancer Shayne, a gay B-boy and mainstay of New York's voguing scene; and Kim Ann Foxman, a Hawaiian lesbian jewellery designer famed for running a notorious club (club?) called Mad Clams, where one could apparently "get away with anything - smoking, sex, drugs, peeing in the corner, dancing naked".... [Guardian]

Nomi (she wore 2 outfits)

Hercules & Love Affair played their first official show at Studio B in Brooklyn on Saturday night (May 17, 2008). As advertised, Antony (who sings some songs on the album) was NOT there, but Nomi (who is awesome and will be touring Europe with them) was there to sing with Kim. More about the show later. More pictures and tour dates below....